I'm so glad there's a thread about this! I don't have any videos, but I hoop for an hour a day and it works really well. It works all my "problem" areas, and it's super fun. So far my record is 20 mins before dropping it.

_________________"I rebuke this thread in the name of Jesus." -Jagadeesh

Ah, I'm going to keep an eye on this thread. I've been curious about starting myself, once I choose the right hoop. I think I found an Australian website that'll ship, but I also wonder if sports stores would have them... but that would involve my going into a sports store.

hooping is great! you can make your own if you just go to a store that sells irrigation supplies... get a couple of metres of a nice thickness of irrigation pipe and one of those hose joining bits that fits your pipe. dip the pipe end in boiled water to soften it to get the joining bit to fit on snuggly. then electrical tape, or whatever other fun decorations you want to wrap it with..

Oh, I like this thread! I hoop almost every day, but usually not very long and just for fun. I think it could be a great exercise, but I only do it inside now and there's not much room for anything but waist-hooping. It's still fun, though, and I'm trying to learn to hoop around my chest/shoulders. I'm just kinda clumsy.

If you can get a nice hoop (like the ones MBM makes), hula hooping becomes infinitely easier.

Yes, apparently they need to be weighted?

No, they don't need to be weighted! You can buy one with water in them and they'll rotate slower so it'll be easier, but when you get better you'll be annoyed that it doesn't go faster.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

I wrote an article about making hoops and starting to hula hoop for a friends site, I have it saved somewhere. Lemme dig it up so I don't have to retype everything.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

Okay, apparently when I copied the article to my computer (the site is now gone), I didn't copy over the links so the second half that has tons of videos, is now kind of useless. But here's the first part about making vs. buying:

Obviously, making your own will be cheaper. The initial costs will seem high because most hardware stores don't have PVC tubing that you can cut off and buy the exact length you need, so you'll end up with enough tubing to make several hoops. But you'll definitely end up wanting to make more than one, so there's no such thing as too much tubing. If you don't have a lot of money, you can skip buying the PVC cutter (or depending on the packaging, cut your tubing and return it, mine was just in a ziplock type baggie). The connectors shouldn't cost more than a dollar each. For your first hoop, you'll want a heavier tubing because a heavier hoop is easier to keep up, so try to get 160 psi tubing in 3/4" diameter.

When it comes to picking a size, most places tell you to pick something between your navel and your shoulder. But think about where you'll be hooping, chances are you don't have a large empty room in your house! In that case, shoulder height is way too tall. For your first hoop, i'd recommend one that is no taller than your chest.

As for tape, it's hard to find fancy tape unless you order from the internet, but for your first hoop you won't want to use expensive tape anyway. Because a) you'll want to practice taping with cheap stuff that you can rip off later if you didn't do a great job and b) if you get bored with hula hooping, you won't have $50 worth of tape collecting dust. Gaffer tape is the best tape for hula hoops because it has a good grip, but since you're unlikely to find it in your town, electrical tape will do fine, and it comes in a couple of colors so you won't be stuck with a black hoop. You do have to tape it though, the tubing is way too slick and won't stay on your body. If you can get cloth hockey tape from a sports supply store, it will provide great grip and is fairly cheap.

Taping a hoop so it looks nice does take a little practice and a good amount of time. Since most tapes have some give and flexibility, if you rush through wrapping the tape you'll have trouble keeping it evenly spaced. So take your time, and make sure you're laying it as straight as possible. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if your first layer of tape is really uneven, it'll make it harder to line up more layers. Once you get used to it and want to buy some gaff tape, more colors of vinyl tape, or some fancy mirror tape, you can get it from Identi-Tape. For my Canadian friends, you can go to Hoop Tape Canada. They don't have quite the selection of Identi-Tape, but you won't have to pay the crazy shipping and fees you would if you ordered from the US.

A note about those fancy metallic tapes: They are a pain in the asparagus to work with. While they're easier to lay straight because they don't really have any stretch, once you lay it down, it won't come back up without ruining the tape. Vinyl tape and gaffer tape are much more forgiving.

So, what if all if that sounds like too much work and you would rather just buy one? Well, luckily for you, there are tons of options. Just mosey on over to Etsy and start searching. From what i've seen the average starting cost for a decent hoop is around $30, sometimes a little less for more simple designs. The problem is, that's pre-shipping. Hula hoops are awkward and therefore expensive to ship. Shipping will run you another $10-15, and that's just inside the US. If you're lucky, you can find someone nearby who makes hoops who will let you pick it up, if you live in a decent sized city there's a very good chance of that. You'll just have to look around.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

I love hula hooping! We have the weighted ones at my gym, but boy do you have to start off slow i.e. 3 minutes, maximum. Then gradually add more time. Otherwise you will get gnarly bruises! The trick though is that over time it will get easier so it takes less effort to keep the hoop up, if your goal is to burn calories/work on your fitness than its important to focus on still putting in the same effort.

Caution: Hooping is not good for pregnant women, people with bad backs, and sometimes it makes me feel like I have to pee.

This is not universally true. I wouldn't recommend that a pregnant woman take up hooping because she'd need a heavier hoop and would primarily be waist hooping, but plenty of hoopers hoop while pregnant. You can use a light hoop and do lots of off the body moves, or upper torso/leg/shoulder hooping.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

Hooping is awesome! Sometimes I use the workout facilities at my school and just do the hula hoop when I'm bored with the treadmill (the only machine I like). IT COUNTS!

_________________"So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."

This is not universally true. I wouldn't recommend that a pregnant woman take up hooping because she'd need a heavier hoop and would primarily be waist hooping, but plenty of hoopers hoop while pregnant. You can use a light hoop and do lots of off the body moves, or upper torso/leg/shoulder hooping.

You're right. I was thinking specifically of the heavy 4lb-ers I use but there are lots of other options.

I am ashamed to admit that since I was a child, I've been inept at the hula-hoop.

Toy hoops are flimsy and shitty, hardly anyone can keep those up!

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear